HOCKEY; Rangers' Goalie Has A Difficult Decision

By JASON DIAMOS

Published: March 10, 2005

When Dan Blackburn was drafted by the Rangers in the first round in 2001, he was heralded by the organization as the heir apparent to goaltender Mike Richter, who retired before last season as the Rangers' career leader in victories.

Giving credence to those expectations, Blackburn was selected to the N.H.L's all-rookie team at the age of 18 as Richter's backup in 2001-2.

How long ago that all seems. As Blackburn, now 21, was flying back to New York from British Columbia through a winter storm Tuesday evening, his once-promising future seemed murkier than that of the locked-out N.H.L.

Blackburn missed the 2003-4 season after sustaining permanent nerve damage in his left shoulder during off-season workouts, and he can no longer use a catching glove because of it. He has an important decision to make about his future, and he has to make it soon.

''It is a very big decision,'' he said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

Blackburn can choose to retire prematurely to collect on a lucrative insurance policy or risk possibly millions of dollars by continuing his comeback attempt.

Blackburn has resumed playing in an unorthodox manner, wearing blockers on both hands, but his uncertain future was one of the main reasons the Rangers drafted Al Montoya, a goaltender from the University of Michigan, in the first round last summer.

Mark Hall, Blackburn's agent, said yesterday that he believed that the Montreal Canadiens' Bill Durnan, a Hall of Famer who was awarded the V?na Trophy as the league's best goaltender six times from 1944 to 1950, wore catching gloves on both hands.

''My mind is on playing first and foremost,'' said Blackburn, who declined to reveal when he had to decide whether to retire or forfeit an insurance settlement. ''I'll make that decision when I come to it.''

According to a prominent agent who has negotiated such settlements, when a player contends that he has a career-ending injury but would like to try a comeback, an insurance company typically gives the player 20 games or so to prove he can still play.

After having shoulder surgery last March 31, Blackburn was given medical clearance to resume playing at the start of February, after more than a year and a half away from the game. He said the idea of playing with a modified blocker on his catching hand originated with an off-the-cuff remark from Glen Sather, the Rangers' president and general manager.

Blackburn approached Acacio Marques, the Rangers' equipment manager, who fitted Blackburn's left hand with a blocker that included a smaller glove for him to cover pucks and catch dump-ins.

With a blocker on each hand, Blackburn appeared in 12 games with the Victoria Salmon Kings, the worst team in the ECHL, before he abruptly quit the team last weekend.

''That was an option I had when I came here: that I could stop at any time,'' said Blackburn, who went 3-9 with a 3.54 goals against average and a .892 save percentage for Victoria. ''I just felt like I wanted to wait for a better situation for me.''

When asked how he had played, Blackburn said, ''Considering they had a 20-game losing streak before I got there, I think it went pretty well.''

Blackburn said the absence of a catching glove had not hampered him.

''It really hasn't come into play in games,'' he said. ''There has not been one time when I let a goal in and I thought, 'Man, I wish I had a glove.' So that's encouraging for me.''

Blackburn signed with Victoria because he could not secure a work visa to play in the United States after he was finally cleared to play. Blackburn said he had reapplied for a work visa and hoped to receive one before March 17, when the final roster must be set for the American Hockey League's Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' top minor league affiliate. Blackburn could also play for the Rangers' lower affiliate, Charlotte of the ECHL.

According to Hall, Blackburn would rather play for Hartford.

But Hall said that the Rangers had not promised Blackburn he could play at Hartford, where Steve Valiquette (with a 1.83 goals against average) and Jason LaBarbera (1.90 goals) were the top two goaltenders in the A.H.L. before last night's games.

''The team told me they'd keep an open mind, and I think they will,'' Blackburn said. ''It's really how you perform.''

Still, there is no guarantee Blackburn will be granted the work visa in time to play in the Rangers' organization this season.

''If I don't get it,'' he said, ''then I'll probably wait until next year's training camp.''

Blackburn is not the first Ranger to face the prospect of early retirement. Stefan Cherneski, a wing drafted in the first round in 1997, shattered his kneecap playing for Hartford in 1998, and his comeback failed two years later.

It will not be long before Blackburn must make his decision. But unlike most players who are still under N.H.L. contracts, he said the lockout had been a boon for him.

''In the long term, it's probably actually been good for me,'' he said. ''I'm not really missing any hockey, because nobody's playing. So I'm probably one of the few people it's actually helped in a strange way.''

Photo: The Rangers' Dan Blackburn tried a minor league comeback with blockers on both hands instead of a glove. (Photo by Adrian Lam/Associated Press)